Layered bulbs

[Tara_H]

I planted up these pots at the end of last year when I was having a really rough time. It took me days just to plan which bulbs would go in which pot, and days more to get them planted up with my husband's help.

But it was so worth it, every time I go in or out of the house, I take a pause to admire them. Because they're planted in layers with lots of different bulbs, there's always something new going on.

 

[Susie]

Beautiful!

 

[lsg]

Very pretty!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

They look absolutely gorgeous! Those are some happy colors and an excellent way to celebrate all this spring is promising.

 

[AliOop]

Oooooh, flowers make me sooo happy, and yours are gorgeous. Thank you for my morning happy pill!

 

[cmzaha]

Absolutely Gorgeous.

 

[Zing]

These pots are stunning! You did a really great job there. Flowers make me happy too. Do I see scilla in there? I've got scilla all over my parkway, it's my very favorite. We are also enjoying tulips and daffodils. And what is the name of that blue/yellow iris?

Our local newspaper just ran an article about a man with 2,500 daffodils in his city yard and his goal is 10,000. I love to garden but that's over the top!

 

[Tara_H]

I'll have to double check the irises, I thought maybe Iris Katharine Hodgkin, but you can't really see those in the photos...

 

[KimW]

Oh, these are breathtaking! A nice outcome from dealing with a rough time. I've tried for years to grow bulbs here with no success. Too many cute little critters. I had no idea such success and beauty could be achieved with bulbs in containers. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Tara_H]

Do I see scilla in there? I've got scilla all over my parkway, it's my very favorite

Oh, I forgot to say earlier, yes, lots of scilla! It's a great colour at a time of year when it's difficult to get anything other than daffodils flowering!

I've tried for years to grow bulbs here with no success. Too many cute little critters.

The first 3 years in this house all my bulbs were dug up and eaten!

I've had some success with planting 'in the green', and it's easy enough to get cheap crocuses etc that are just about to finish flowering, as long as I don't mind waiting a year to see if they're successful! But by far the best result I get in pots - these have a nice fibrous mix to make sure they drain very well since it rains a lot where we are.

 

[Zing]

Oh, I forgot to say earlier, yes, lots of scilla! It's a great colour at a time of year when it's difficult to get anything other than daffodils flowering!
The first 3 years in this house all my bulbs were dug up and eaten!
I've had some success with planting 'in the green', and it's easy enough to get cheap crocuses etc that are just about to finish flowering, as long as I don't mind waiting a year to see if they're successful! But by far the best result I get in pots - these have a nice fibrous mix to make sure they drain very well since it rains a lot where we are.

Love love love scilla -- it is the first sign of spring and I love how it naturalizes so quickly. Patience with bulbs is even harder than patience with soap unmolding and cutting and curing!! Most critters totally ignore scilla and daffodils, tulips are more tempting. I spent all last summer battling Asian bettles and voles. Now, oh the humanity, the new danger is jumping worms that destroy soil!!

The two cities I've lived are generous in giving away tulip bulbs after they have decorated conservatories and downtown medians. I plant those bulbs in May or June and have to wait until the following Spring to find out the color and shape! But hey, it's free, so who am I to complain?!

What does 'in the green' mean? I like to collect local idioms. Up until recently I lived in Chicago that had parkways (lawn between the street and sidewalk) and boulevards (long stretches of parkland for miles that border a main street and a side service road.) Since I have moved and trying to learn Minnesotanese, 'parkways' and 'boulevards' are exactly opposite of Chicagoese even tho' you 'park' on a boulevard and 'drive' on a parkway!! The accent in the movie Fargo is totally spot on -- I cringe every time I hear the local radio anchor invite us to join in at twooooo this afternooooon for the noooooze. Now I gotta go have dinner, I mean supper, which is a a casserole, woops, sorry, a hot dish. I'll also have a pop too, not a soda. Wanna join me over by here? But first you gotta warsh your hands before dinner I mean supper, oh my Garsh. Yah, sure, ya betcha!

 

[Tara_H]

Most critters totally ignore scilla and daffodils, tulips are more tempting.

Funny enough, I don't have nearly as much problems with tulips, I guess because they get planted so much deeper. The critters around here don't seem to have too much patience for digging, but bulbs in soft soil near the surface will be quickly demolished!

the new danger is jumping worms that destroy soil!!

Omg what??!

What does 'in the green' mean?

Oh, it means to plant them while they still have leaves, after they finish flowering. It's almost required with snowdrops, since they don't store very well, but I find that they don't seem to make such a tempting meal that way, and it gives them a chance to get established before they go dormant.

Funny about all the idioms, I'm sure we'd have plenty of novel ones for you!
To me a boulevard is a wide street with a grassy strip down the middle that's planted with trees. Parkway - not a thing! We don't have either pop or soda, it's fizzy drinks, soft drinks, or minerals! Or mixers if there's going to be alcohol added

But c'mere to me and I'll tell you about the head on yer wan when I saw her in the offy...

 

[sabnazzy]

I planted up these pots at the end of last year when I was having a really rough time. It took me days just to plan which bulbs would go in which pot, and days more to get them planted up with my husband's help.

But it was so worth it, every time I go in or out of the house, I take a pause to admire them. Because they're planted in layers with lots of different bulbs, there's always something new going on.

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i always loved the colour combo of yellow and purple even in my soaps

 

[Zing]

Jumping worms! Who knew it was a thing?! Minnesota's 'jumping worm' invasion upends spring plant sales

 

[amd]

Lovely!

We were happy to discover when we bought our house 4 years ago that the flower beds were all thoughtfully planted so we have something new flowering through spring summer and fall. It definitely does make me appreciate our yard so much more! Now if I could just appreciate it enough to do all the weeding...

 

[AliOop]

Our new-to-us house also has bulbs and other succession plants in the beds. We are enjoying the last of the hyacinths and daffodils, as well as new-blooming lilies of some kinds, and other things that I can't identify. A friend brought over a lovely large hydrangea for a housewarming gift; not sure where it will go yet, but I'm excited because the blue-purple hydrangeas are a favorite of mine!

 

[earlene]

I still have to move (dig up, separate, replant) several bulbs around my house. I thought I got all of them in the past, but crops of daffodils came up in tight clumps in a couple of places that were formerly protected, but are now right in the pathway of the riding lawn mower & Hubby may mow them down when they stop blooming and I may not be able to find them again until next year. And the crocuses are buried too deep, so I have to dig them up and re-plant them as well. I haven't seen the tulips, day lilies or irises yet. But the hostas just started unfurling their leaves this past week, so I hope the others are yet to come up. I don't remember where I replanted them. Perhaps they didn't survive.

I may need to replenish the irises, as I think they may have run their course. I was gone almost an entire year in 2019-2020 & don't know for sure that they are still viable. Hubby doesn't recall if any came up last Spring or Summer.

But with my dominant hand still in a cast going on a month now, I'm not sure when I will be able to do this!

 

[Tara_H]

crops of daffodils came up in tight clumps in a couple of places that were formerly protected, but are now right in the pathway of the riding lawn mower & Hubby may mow them down when they stop blooming and I may not be able to find them again until next year.

This is exactly how it goes in our garden too
There are some lovely daffodils planted by a previous owner that have naturalised everywhere, and hunting them down and moving them to sensible places could be a full time job! They also get mixed up in the compost, and in the roots of other plants, so for example there are some particularly nice specimens growing around the old tree stump that we put in the chicken run for them to play on and some trying to establish themselves among the strawberries and asparagus...

 

[Susie]

I have a front flowerbed that y'all can come work on anytime. I just am not interested in flowers. If we haven't come up with a different plan by next year, it will become my herb bed mixed in with some low care native plants. I thought a ginger plant mixed with some creeping thyme, regular and lemon thyme, sage, parsley, tickseed, Texas bluebonnet, and lemongrass would make an interesting front bed. And I can pull the obvious herbs when I go to re-sell and stick something else in their places.

 

[Tara_H]

I have a front flowerbed that y'all can come work on anytime. I just am not interested in flowers. If we haven't come up with a different plan by next year, it will become my herb bed mixed in with some low care native plants. I thought a ginger plant mixed with some creeping thyme, regular and lemon thyme, sage, parsley, tickseed, Texas bluebonnet, and lemongrass would make an interesting front bed. And I can pull the obvious herbs when I go to re-sell and stick something else in their places.

Sounds great - ideally all the plants here would have a purpose apart from just looking good, but sometimes I find I just want some pretty colours to look at! But herbs and other useful plants can be just as attractive with a bit of planning.

We're not planting the veg bed rotation this year since we want to work on the drainage and irrigation, so my plan is mostly to get a solid start on the dye garden and try to get a yield of fruit.